Later, Lin Jingyuan began to study “The Analects of Confucius” in full earnest. Not only did he memorize it, he also made sure that he could completely grasp the meaning behind every word and sentence! Until he could memorize the entire book, he refrained himself from visiting his little sister Feilu. Otherwise, he would lose the last bits of his dignity!
Since Lin Jingyuan had not been visiting, Lin Feilu had more free time to herself. Lin Zhanyuan, however, had been sulking because he had not played with his little sister as of late. Lin Feilu had to coax and placate him for almost half a day. Lin Zhanyuan finally made a request, “I want to eat the jujubes from Qingpei Garden, then I will forgive Little Sister!”
She picked up a few jujubes when she passed by Qingpei Garden some time ago. She did not expect Lin Zhanyuan to be thinking about them after such a long time. Lin Feilu smiled and patted his head: “Alright, Little Sister will go pick some up for you. Be good and wait here.”
Lin Zhanyuan grinned foolishly.
As late autumn had approached, the weather became colder. Lin Feilu put on a white velvet cloak Xiao Lan had sewn for her and went out to pick jujubes.
There were many fruit trees planted in Qingpei Garden. In autumn, it was filled with many fruits hanging heavily from the tree branches. The concubines in the Imperial Harem liked to send their servants here to pick some fresh fruits. When Lin Feilu entered the garden from the small arched entrance, suddenly she heard the voice of someone crying in a corner of the garden’s walls.
She was never the type to simply poke her nose into other people’s business. At first, she thought that it was probably just a eunuch or palace maid who got reprimanded, so she went straight into the garden to pick jujubes. By the time she was about to leave the garden, that same voice was still sobbing in soft volumes, as if it was afraid to be heard. There was no need to even mention how pitiful it sounded.
Lin Feilu came out of the garden from the small arched entrance and could not help but to look into the direction where the sound came from.
Squatting among the tall grass, there was a figure that was only as tall as half an adult’s height. The figure was also dressed in exquisite robes unlike those of servants.
She thought about it for a moment and decided to head over.
She stepped on the flowers and fallen leaves, making a rustling sound. The figure in the tall grass heard the sound, turned around and questioned in a raised pitch, “Who goes there?!”
Lin Feilu parted the tall grass and saw an exceptionally handsome young boy. He held a white little rabbit in his arms. His eyes were as red as the rabbit’s from crying too much. His face was full of tears and he looked pitiful.
Lin Feilu knelt down and asked, “Why are you crying?”
The young boy seemed to be embarrassed because he was discovered. He attempted to put on a fierce expression. However, he was not a villain by nature, and he had just been found crying, so he was feeling helpless. No matter how pitiful he looked, he could only pretend to be indifferent as he turned his head to hide his frustration, “None of your business.”
In just one glance, Lin Feilu completely grasped this young boy’s character. She did not get annoyed. Instead, she smiled and patted the rabbit in his arms, “Did you raise this rabbit? It’s so cute.”
The young boy’s body trembled slightly and the tears that had stopped were threatening to burst forth again. He gritted his teeth and held back, showing a miserable expression.
Lin Feilu looked at him for a moment, then asked softly, “What’s the matter?”
Not far off, the chatter of palace maids talking and laughing gradually came closer. The boy’s face changed and he made a “shush” gesture. Lin Feilu nodded and squatted next to the boy, so that the tall grass covered both of them. The palace maids walked towards Qingpei Garden and left after picking some fruits.
No one said anything during this period, just two pairs of eyes looking at each other. When the chattering noise disappeared, the boy glumly looked at her and asked, “Who are you?”